Dover KUMB fan wrote:Lost count of how many run in's I've had with these a-holes. Town & City centres need them for sure, but quiet residential streets? Nah.

To balance things out a little. I used to live in a so called quiet residential street. White lines painted right up to the edge of my dropped kerb - but people in cars that couldn't park properly, people with big vans too long for the spaces frequently went over the line making it a proper ball ache to reverse in or out, and on more than one occasion, unable to get out at all. I wasn't the only one that had issues like this, some of my neighbours did too.

The council's parking wardens started patrolling the area, gave out a few tickets and it soon stopped.

From my work point of view where we have routes that have midi-buses (short single door single deckers), it's sometimes impossible to get one down some residential street because of poor and illegal parking- same applies to some of the bigger residential streets when full sized doubles have to go down them. It would be carnage if there were no wardens.

I know there are some dick-head parking wardens out there that are a bit too over enthusiastic - but like my views on speed cameras - if you don't give a reason to get a ticket - you won't get one, nor find yourself in the position of having to try and communicate with them. It's all very well pacing the blame on the warden/speed camera if you get hit - but if you hadn't parked where you shouldn't or sped, you wouldn't have got one - and for that, there is nobody else to blame but yourself - not the person or the machine issuing it.

-DL- wrote:I know there are some dick-head parking wardens out there that are a bit too over enthusiastic - but like my views on speed cameras - if you don't give a reason to get a ticket - you won't get one, nor find yourself in the position of having to try and communicate with them. It's all very well pacing the blame on the warden/speed camera if you get hit - but if you hadn't parked where you shouldn't or sped, you wouldn't have got one - and for that, there is nobody else to blame but yourself - not the person or the machine issuing it.

It wasn’t me who got the ticket, it was my missus’ boy for having less that a quarter of his motor over a yellow line which was not causing any obstruction whatsoever. The traffic warden had clocked his number plate from down the street, wrote the ticket out and promptly marched up and slapped it straight on the car. All he had to do was walk up and say “move it” a bit further forward, and it would have been moved. He chose to be a sneaky ****hole instead, then get quite aggressive when my missus’ boy protested that he was just leaving (which he was). He also threatened us all with the police for intimidation (none of us had said anything to the bloke at this point) if we didn’t move away (we were standing outside my missus’ salon). When he said that, I actually felt sorry for the bloke as myy missus tore into him for telling her she couldn’t stand outside her own shop. He was a dick and deserved everything she called him (and more). Any sympathy rapidly vanished when he got on his radio and said he was being “verbally assaulted” by a member of the public and got his camera out and attempted to photograph us.

Smonnie wrote:Maybe time to go contracting? That's where the big bucks are in IT!

IMHO, it's a terrible time to go contracting - the tax environment is becoming so hostile to contractors that it's going to be very difficult to make more money than being a permie, with none of the advantages of being a permie. Expect to see HMRC go apeshit with IR35 next year, after mandating it in the public sector this year.

DasNutNock wrote:Cheers boss - will be straight over when I find out more. Wouldn't mind so much if people were at least being a bit more open/honest here, but that's what I get for working for a US firm

Kludgehammer wrote:IMHO, it's a terrible time to go contracting - the tax environment is becoming so hostile to contractors that it's going to be very difficult to make more money than being a permie, with none of the advantages of being a permie. Expect to see HMRC go apeshit with IR35 next year, after mandating it in the public sector this year.

In my view, IR35 won't affect the Private Sector. The Public Sector is already chancing it in a number of areas, and frankly it's an illegal law which limits people's freedom of labour.

They've only done it in PubSec because it's a double whammy - public money being paid out and then lower tax returns on it.

Greatest Cockney Rip Off wrote:Traffic wardens. Just **** off. How bad must your life be that you make the decision to become one of these cutns?

Better than having no job, which they would of course be slated for.

Agree with DL about residential parking, when I lived in Sidcup some of the parking was horrific. Saw it on more than one occasion a Ambulance struggling to get through as cars were on either side. Can cause a serious risk.

Not condoning the smarmy traffic wardens at all, but a lot are just going on what they are told.

Kludgehammer wrote:IMHO, it's a terrible time to go contracting - the tax environment is becoming so hostile to contractors that it's going to be very difficult to make more money than being a permie, with none of the advantages of being a permie. Expect to see HMRC go apeshit with IR35 next year, after mandating it in the public sector this year.

Smonnie wrote:In my view, IR35 won't affect the Private Sector. The Public Sector is already chancing it in a number of areas, and frankly it's an illegal law which limits people's freedom of labour.

They've only done it in PubSec because it's a double whammy - public money being paid out and then lower tax returns on it.

Mine is a contract desk and it's booming.

HMRC have a plan (or as close as they ever get to one) to apply IR35 to the private sector as well, rumours were next tax year. It was not mandated on the Public sector, but they tried to place the risk on civil servants (who never want to be responsible for anything) of stating contracts were outside so some CS took the easy route. Where I am they realised that the entire programme would stop so we are all outside IR35, but our contracts and way of working were already assessed as outside. All it will take is a test case and (as usual) HMRC are very likely to lose, so we will end up with further case law to follow when drafting contracts and working practices.

DasNutNock wrote:Potentially losing my job just before my wife goes on maternity leave. But at least I can draw some comfort from the fact that the bloke making that decision is buying a new car.

I was made redundant just before our first child had turned One year old and mortgage rates were 10.54 , things were tight enough in a job so naturally it was a very worrying time - I took a job as a builder's labourer for 9 months then went to work in a saw mill . You're a bright young man not short on confidence , you'll be fine . Best of luck to you .

ps - Maybe it's time you took a chance on that food business venture you were thinking about , sometimes these things happen for a reason .

Smonnie wrote:In my view, IR35 won't affect the Private Sector. The Public Sector is already chancing it in a number of areas, and frankly it's an illegal law which limits people's freedom of labour.

They've only done it in PubSec because it's a double whammy - public money being paid out and then lower tax returns on it.

Mine is a contract desk and it's booming.

It's already affecting the private sector. I know 2 people in my current place who have been totally reamed by HMRC over it. They are going after large companies with lots of contractors, and it's expected to get a lot worse next year

They all seem to be pretty well off - or at least well off enough to spend an absolute fortune on pointless tat. They all seem so vapid and desperate to be buying into a lifestyle that defines them as successful and sexy - a cut above the little people that will never understand the importance of spending £700 a year on aftershave.